Latest Data Shows How the Cost of Living Compares in Each State
Most people know that California is far more expensive than states like Oklahoma. What you might not know is just how thoroughly gaps among the states rewrite budgets and financial options.
To compare costs across states, the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center annually scores each one against a national baseline of 100—cheaper states fall below it, pricier ones above. Paired with Census data on income, home values and rent, the 2025 figures reveal just how wide state-to-state gaps have grown. It also helps answer why nearly 15 million Americans relocated last year, many of them chasing lower costs.
The Cost of Living Varies Greatly Across the US
Where Your Dollar Goes Furthest
Oklahoma ranks as the most affordable state in the country, with a MERIC composite index of 84.7, about 15% below the national average.2 Mississippi (86.0), West Virginia (88.0), Alabama (88.1), and Kansas (88.4) round out the five cheapest. The most affordable states cluster almost entirely in the South and Midwest, a pattern that holds whether MERIC metrics assess the cost of groceries, utilities, transportation or healthcare.
Housing drives the largest share of the local cost of living. For MERIC’s housing subindex, Oklahoma is at 68.8, about 31% below the U.S. average, and the state’s median home value is $222,100, according to the 2024 American Community Survey (ACS). That’s a price where a 10% down payment is $22,000, not $88,000, as it would be in Hawaii.
Tennessee complicates the picture. Its composite index of 90.1 puts it among the 10 most affordable states, yet its median home value has climbed to $332,600, reflecting years of rising demand as more people move there.
Where Costs Run the Highest
Hawaii is the most expensive state by a considerable margin, with a MERIC index value of 183.9, meaning it costs 84% more than the national average.2 Its housing subindex of 299.0 is triple the U.S. average, and a median home costs $875,900, nearly four times what buyers pay in Oklahoma, according to ACS data. The state’s median monthly rent of $1,942 is the second highest in the Census data.
Massachusetts ranks second overall with a composite index of 148.5, followed by California (143.1), the District of Columbia (137.8), and New York (125.8). California’s housing subindex of 199.4—about double the national average—reflects decades of problems increasing housing supply there.5 Its median gross rent of $2,104 is the highest of any state, per ACS data. California was the top outbound migration state in 2025, according to data from North American Van Lines, with housing costs and the overall cost of living cited as primary drivers.
